Experts of a government body, the Institute of Water Modelling (IWM), have reported that open pit mining at the Barapukuria (north) mine field will not invite desertification or unmanageable ground water problems in the region. Environmental activist groups have long been campaigning against open pit mining of coal with various perceived threats to ground water systems suggesting that the de-watering operations necessary for open pit coal mine development would lead to desertification of the northern region (!).
Such an organised campaign has been launched by the activists since the coal mining in the Barapukuria-Phulbari areas became a major topic of discussion in the country. In this backdrop, the government assigned nearly two years back IWM under the Ministry of Water Resources to carry out 'Hydro-geological study and Groundwater Modelling for northern part of Barapukuria coal basin area'. On October 20, 2014, IWM presented its study findings at a technical workshop attended by relevant experts and policy planners of the country.
The IWM modelling covered an area of 60 square-kilometres surrounding the Barapukuria coal mine site to determine the flow of underground water (aquifer) for extracting coal under the open-pit method. Executive Director of IWM Mohammod Monowar Hossain suggested that the government could go for open-pit mining for coal at the northern part of Barapukuria, subject to the technical feasibility and economic viability of the project. Mosharrof Hossain, a former Petrobangla chairman and coordinator of the government monitoring committee that had guided the IWM for the study, stated to the media that 'the results of a water-modelling survey have given us some relief, as we found that the water flow would be almost half of what we had assumed.'
At this stage the state-owned Ashuganj Power Station Company Ltd has a plan to set up a 1,320MW coal-based power plant at the mouth of Barapukuria coal mine. An open pit coal mine can supply necessary volume of coal to the proposed power plant provided the mine is built in the Barapukuria basin. The Barapukuria basin contains 390 million tonnes of coal at a depth ranging from 118 meters to 503 meters below the surface within 668 hectares of land.
In September 2011, government formed a 15-member expert committee, headed by Mosharraf Hossain, to recommend appropriate mining methods for coal extraction and its best possible use as alternative energy in the country. After a year-long analysis and review of available information and consultation meetings, the committee suggested, among others, for extracting coal from the northern part of Barapukuria and Phulbari coal deposits in Dinajpur district using open pit method of mining.
The currently operational Barapukuria underground coal mine extracts coal from a small part (from 300 hectares area) of the Barapukuria coal basin. The mining authority had to limit its coal mining activities at the deeper parts of the basin only. Underground mining method cannot be applied for shallow deposit areas in and around Barapukuria due to its geological set up. Therefore, Barapukuria underground mine has put aside more than 150 million tonnes of coal resource from its mining targets. Considering the looming primary energy crisis in the country, the government has decided to go for further large scale coal extraction in the known coal basins.
Open pit mining initiative got stalled with the political crisis that sparked at Phulbari (Dinajpur) while detailed geological, ground water and hydrological, socio-environmental studies found the mining proposal viable. The studies were carried out by international consultants engaged by the then Asia Energy, the licensee for the coal mine development there. One of the objections raised by the political opponents of the open pit mining at Phulbari basin was that the local experts did not independently verify the study results or carried out alternative technical studies.
Now, the IWM study findings for groundwater modelling echo conclusions that Asia Energy suggested in 2006 for the Phulbari basin. The volume of water to be pumped for de-watering operations for Barapukuria northern part mining area would not be more than the volume of water extracted by various irrigation pumps (shallow and deep tube wells) for agricultural fields in the area. IWM experts further suggested that the water to be pumped in mine de-watering operations could facilitate irrigation needs for nearly 4,000 hectares of agriculture lands and for keeping live the surface water bodies there. Thus the water planned to be extracted for de-watering operations (expected total volume 6,215 million cubic meters) for Barapukuria north will be rationally used and within 7 years the temporary water table draw down impact would be normalised by replenishing the water table to its pre-dewatering operations level. IWM experts also suggested that the soil and rocks that would be required to uncover the coal seams can be used to reclaim the mined out areas in a phased manner and re-vegetated. A small portion of the mined out area would be left as recreational water pond after the mine life would be over.
However, before making the commercial mining decisions, a series of studies including a detailed geo-technical study, mine technical feasibility study, environmental impact assessment study, resettlement action plan, mine closer planning etc., should be carried out. The IWM study team also recommended that the existing abandoned canals, ponds and other water bodies be rehabilitated and used as storage for water and sources for ground water recharge.
The writer is a mining engineer and writes on energy and environment issues. mushfiq41@yahoo.com
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